The Dalai Lama had been hoping to join a Nobel peace conference in Cape Town next month but withdrew his visa application after being told it would be unsuccessful. Photo: AP

South Africa has denied a visa to the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, for the third time in five years, one of his representatives said on Thursday, intensifying speculation about the extent of Beijing’s sway over Pretoria.

The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India and is at loggerheads with China over Tibet, had been hoping to join a Nobel peace conference in Cape Town next month but withdrew his visa application after being told it would be unsuccessful.

“We have informally received contact His Holiness won’t get his visa,” Nangsa Chodon, the Dalai Lama’s South Africa-based representative, said.

The South African foreign ministry confirmed that its High Commission in India had received a visa application but denied it had been rejected, saying it was being subjected to “normal due process”.

It then said the Dalai Lama had cancelled his trip. It did not provide details.

“[China] highly appreciates the respect given by the South African government on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the support given to China on this issue,” Qin said on Friday at a regular press briefing.

“We believe that South Africa will continue to support China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Qin said, adding that the Dalai Lama had “destroyed” China’s ethnic unity “under the guise of religion”.

Beijing brands the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule of Tibet, a separatist. The Dalai Lama says he is seeking more autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.

A South African court ruled two years ago that officials had “unreasonably delayed” a decision on granting the Dalai Lama a visa in 2011, largely out of fear of angering China, now a major African and South African trading partner and investor.

Because of the delay, the Dalai Lama was unable to attend the 80th birthday of his friend and fellow Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town in October 2011. The previous visa denial, in 2009, was also for a peace conference.

“We remain hopeful that the national government will grant the visa in order to spare South Africa the international humiliation of failing to do so,” opposition politician and Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, who is organising next month’s event, said prior to the Dalai Lama’s withdrawal.

“Qin said, adding that the Dalai Lama had “destroyed” China’s ethnic unity “under the guise of religion”.”Eh? Is it not the other way around? Hasn’t China actually destroyed Tibetan culture/religion under the guise of ‘China’s ethnic unity’? Basically, those who do not assimilate are ‘separatists’. Why doesn’t China actually ask Tibetans if they want to have their culture systematically destroyed and become part of their culture-less and suppressive ‘ethnic unity’? Oh, as we have recently discovered with what has happened to Hong Kong, Beijing does not believe in giving people the freedom to choose what they want.

tonywong@****** Sep 5th 20149:16pm

Just goes to show how childish, paranoid and controlling China’s government is to thank another country for restricting a person’s freedom of movement, association and expression. China’s expansion and hegemony in Asia, and slowly towards the rest of the world, only means more misery for people and tight restrictions of their freedoms and happiness. The sooner people stand up to this corrupt regime in China the better. One only has to look at the surrounding areas of China to understand clearly how China’s expansionist strategy is bringing so many areas unhappiness like a plague: Xinjiang… Tibet… Hong Kong… soon Taiwan… This is no ‘Chinese Dream’ but a ‘Chinese Nightmare’.

The Dalai Lama does not encourage people to immolate themselves. Get your facts straight!
Or are you just another lying plant from the Communist Party?

luisdyding@****** Sep 6th 20145:47pm

why invite the devil?south africa was right to denied visa to dalai lama.

ken.pan.980 Sep 6th 201412:35am

When someone claims to be for love and peace, but repeatedly tells his supporters to set themselves on fire and kill themselves. What do you call that someone?That's right, a hypocrite and a ****.How does a country like the great US of A deal with someone like that? Two cases to look up: William Francis Melchert-Dinkel and Anwar al-Awlaki.It is perfectly okay to deny Visa to such a ****. In fact, **** should be happy he's not behind bars or killed in a drone strike.